Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-08-14

rate abstracts or lists Of all the unsold
school, university and asylum lands in
each and every county, this work being
3tc $saTv as a preliminary. He mas
| tqV;pptd and put 10 work about thirty
cia-a;iiers, about ten Of whom are opera
ting In your representative district These
clssSiders are now constantly reporting
snd within sixty days it is hoped the
work VIII have progressed sufficiently 10
be IN advance Of aIl demands for pur-
chase.
And new, Mr.. Browning, 20 come down
10 the subject which is the burden OF
your letter, and the chief cause Of Jour
unrest and discomfort: la this one
n 3nth since the law has been ia force
the Commissioner has "in his discretion"
leased about ( 600, coo acres Of land, most
OF which has, since the days Of Adam,
been ss free as the wind.
Four million acres. Why that is as
much 2s was leased in four years under,
the Get Of 1888. 1t is not strange that you
and your personal organ should say that
"the Land Board w6s bad enough but the
Commissioner is worse,n or words to
that effect; and that somebody had
Jumped from the Trying pan into t2e
fire" That he did rot make the law is
the only apology the Commissioner has TO
offer; it is simply his painful duty to eX-
ecute It When your next letter to the
CORRESPONDING clerk" is answered, you
will probably be informed that "a great
many leases ere being msde still"
And now do you honestly thiak that
these leasee, made subject to a classified
ton which Will class as agricultural
ell lands smooth enough to be plowed
and fertile enough to be productive, and
subject to the rights Of sill settlers now
upon the land, will impede the settle
ment? VIII lease go conditional and
hedged around arrest for moment the
onward march Of the home seeker? VIII
actual settlers, genuine and bona flde
sure enough, within the next two or five
years, want many sections il the Pan
handle, w1iCh are too rough &c be
plOughed or so poor end rocky as to be
untitled for agriculture: Lands Of this
kind in Travis and Williams to-day ere
either unocCupied commons or poor pas
lures.
In your letter you make but few ex-
tracts from the law you quote small
part OF only two or three sections Of
law which contains twenty-six sections.
Section j. declsres that "It shall be
unlawful for any person to fence, use,
occupy, or appropriate, etc, etc, any
of the lsnds, etc, etc, without having
first obtained lease of such lands in &C
cordanCe with the provisions O. this act"
Then follow the penalties for q violation
Of this, which when enforced SIZE simply
ruinous.
Do you really expect Governor Il )es to
enforce this provision CT the act after the
c. mmissioner ''in his discretion" may
have refused to lease the land? Dc you
expect Governor Ross to ruthlessly de-
stroy the cattle interests Of Texas by en-
forcing one part Of wise and just law,
while the Commissioner has danled those
interests the protection of another part
CT tie same law
No, TINS law IS whole is suili GENTLY
harmonious, and under wise discretion
Will opera.e successfully and win ben:f-
cent results to the whole people.
Ia order 20 labor the n ore inteliigen1ly
20 this erd, it is my intention to visit
your section during the present month.
MY appointments will put me in Ciaren-
don on the I'D pr0x., and il Mobeetie On
the 9th. With CREST respect your obedi-
eat servant, Il NJ. HALL,
Commissioner Genera. Land O1ice.os